Development of a World Fisheries Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS)
General background World marine capture fishery landings began to level off after 1970 and are now slowly approaching the forecast ceiling of conventional resources at about 100 million tonnes. Overall, about 50% of the world resources for which data is available are fully exploited and about 25% are overexploited while 25% could still apparently produce higher level of landings. A few fisheries have collapsed but many of them are in a state in which the risk of collapse is not negligible. Widespread concern is being expressed about the state of many fishery resources and their non-sustainable use, especially since the UN Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992). This has led to questioning of present performance of production and management systems and to the adoption of new important international instruments as well as to a growing process of change in governance at national and lower level. This concern has often been exaggerated and the situation misinterpreted because of the lack of scientifically adequate and easily available information. While fairly detailed information is available for a number of important stocks, a large but unknown number of stocks and species are in an unknown state. There is a particular lack of information on the status of resources in coastal areas (especially for many small islands), resources exploited by small scale fisheries, and resources subject to rapid environmentally-induced fluctuations. With the entry into force of UNCLOS and the adoption of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the Code of Conduct, the Compliance Agreement, as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the legal framework for enhanced resources conservation has improved, but there is a growing feeling that public opinion is destabilized and often misinformed because of the lack of clear, easily understandable and verifiable information on the state of the resources and their habitat, based on the best scientific evidence available, from objective sources. Similarly, policy-makers, confronted to tremendous implementation challenges lack clear information on alternative solutions and pathways to management or rebuilding of stocks as well as to ecosystem-based fisheries management. The monitoring of the implementation of the recently-agreed instruments and the assessment of management performance call also for the development of harmonised and integrated information systems of indicators on the resources and their habitat. The formidable challenge created by rising demands for timely, verifiable, high quality, integrated information, at the appropriate level of aggregation and resolution (from national to global levels) is being tackled by FAO through development of FIGIS (the Fisheries Global Information System). The main objectives of FIGIS are to raise awareness of policy issues relating to fisheries and their environment, to promote standards and improved practices in the conduct of fisheries and fisheries-related activities, and to provide comprehensive and coherent fisheries information. This system, using leading edge web-based information technologies (e.g. XML, XLS and Java), has developed Internet-based tools and functionality with the view to promote more effective and focussed cooperation between information sources, within FAO as well as between FAO, regional fisheries management organisations and national centres of excellence. One of the priority objectives for FIGIS in its first phase (1999-2000) is to modernise drastically, improve and streamline the global flow of information about fishery resources and stock status and trends. The need to cooperate globally to improve the information has been recognised in principle by the first Meeting of FAO and Non-FAO Regional Fishery Bodies or Arrangements (Rome, 11-12 February 1999). The particular role for FIGIS in this regard has been acknowledged by the recent FAO Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (ACFR) and its Working Party on Status and Trends of fisheries (Rome, 30 November &endash; 3 December 1999). ACFR recognized the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge across regions and species groups and the various processes needed to monitor status and trends of resources. The following situations can be encountered: 1. stocks assessed regularly in cooperation: in the framework of management commissions (IATTC, ICCAT, NAFO; CCSBT; FAO Commissions under Article XIVetc.) in the framework of scientific commissions (ICES, PICES, SPC, FAO Commissions under Article VI) 2. stocks assessed regularly at national level in a national fishery management institution or fishery research agency 3. stocks not assessed regularly by university academics (in the framework of thesis, etc). formal assessments published in refereed journals; informal assessments given in other reports (consultants, NGOs, Industry) in newspapers, magazines other types of information of value for assessment (market supply, prices, sector information, etc.) For many of these situations, the information quantity, quality, availability and integration could be significantly improved through a global undertaking to develop a Global Fishery Resources Monitoring System interactively maintained by a network of partners facilitated by FAO. ACFR concluded that progress towards a global system of status and trends reporting on marine fishery resources should be achieved through : increasing completeness by including information on some fisheries and fishery resources currently under-represented in FAO data expanding the scope of current reports, broadening them to the economic social and ecosystem aspects enhancing quality assurance For those fisheries/resources falling under mandates of Regional fishery body or national centres of excellence, such an information development strategy should be specified in a partnership agreement between FAO and Regional Fishery Bodies as well as national centres of excellence, to promote information exchange on stocks status and trends. The partnership agreement would also stipulate the rights, obligations and responsibilities of all partners. ACFR recommended that the framework for such a partnership be prepared. Project justification The present proposal is intended to set the foundations of a process to enhance quality assurance for information on resources by making stock status and trends reporting more complete, verifiable and accurate, through significantly enhanced international cooperation. FIGIS will include a Fisheries Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) module to facilitate communication through the network of fishery science centres of excellence as well as secretariats of regional or global fisheries commissions which will exchange data on their resources and fisheries, in their region of competence as well as between regions, through the system. In addition, FIGIS will benefit from the SIFARNET network system established in FAO to foster cooperation among fishery scientists and to help building fisheries research capacity in the developing world. At regional level, the need for an application such as FIRMS has been recognised by international organisations whose mandates now require far greater availability of information and transparency of process. Complex working group structures at ICES and ICCAT and the demand of their members for full disclosure of information has resulted in the enormous accumulation of information on stocks. Maintaining these into the proposed database would assist in meeting the demands of their clients and participating scientists. An information system that tracks the results obtained by individual scientists or working groups within institutions, countries, regional fishery bodies and international organisations would provide fishery scientists, research managers and fishery management authorities with a precious analytical and filing tool to improve their working efficiency. Maintaining the history of fish stock assessments is not an easy task. Who did what, where, when and how, and what were the results? Keeping a record of these things on individual stock assessments has significant value for a wide range of purposes. It will facilitate retrospective analyses of stock assessments for the purpose of improving them . It will provide a repository for storage in a structured way of information on assessment methods employed. It will increase transparency and allow access to other agencies' information in database format. The relatively long time frames that are required to arrive at fishery sustainability for a stock rebuilding programme mean that time series of information must be kept. These time series include data and estimates derived from analyses, as well as the methods used in arriving at the estimates . The development of the FIRMS module of FIGIS requires agreement at regional and international level on a number of typologies and nomenclatures (e.g. for resources as well as assessment methods) and will represent a golden opportunity to develop international standards while keeping as required the 'local' character of the work. It will also drive a design promoting and demonstrating the use of the "best scientific information available" as required by UNCLOS offering, in addition, globally comparable information on methodology used for fisheries and stock assessments. In so doing, the development of FIRMS will help the development of international consensus on stock assessment methodology and its application. This project will be executed in phases (see below) and the first pilot phase will be executed in parallel with the consultations about the draft International Plan of Action (IPOA) for Fishery Status and Trends Reporting was discussed at the most recent COFI meeting (February 2001). Through its analysis of the forms and objectives of a legal partnership framework, FIRMS will indeed allow the IPOA process to draw upon concrete experience. In the medium term, the experience gained through the FIRMS project will contribute to establishing an active network of Partners within the community of regional and national institutions peer reviewing stock assessments, involved in the FIGIS system to provide the global community with best scientific evidence on stock status and trends in a timely manner. Target beneficiaries The immediate beneficiaries will be the Fisheries Regional Organisations which will receive greater consideration from their member countries from being able to manage their wealth of information with greater availability, responsiveness and transparency of process, as well as FAO in its efforts to promote global means to strengthen resources conservation and promote implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. However, the real final beneficiaries will be the global fisheries community, relying heavily on the accuracy of stock and yield assessments. Fishers require it - to enable them to receive allocations and plan their businesses and activities. Fishery managers need it - to define and make fishery allocations in respect of their management plan or regime. Policy makers rely on it - to formulate plans and legal instruments in support of public objectives. The public demands it - to have a basis upon which to judge whether there is appropriate stewardship of both renewable resources and the environment. Fisheries scientists will use it &endash; to understand effectiveness of approaches and methods thanks to facilitated comparative research. Future generations will appreciate it - to keep the flow of information going, and for refining the techniques as a result of the 'hindsight' methods that will continue to be the basis of predictive fish yield assessments. Institutional framework and partners' contributions to the Project Strategy What will be critical to the operational use of the proposed application is the commitment of fishery information sources to use it for supplying information in the form required and to support its further development and acceptance. This kind of challenge can only be addressed through collaborative development between potential partners. Participation by practising stock assessment organisations - to ensure their needs and concerns are addressed - should be limited to a trial group of users. It is proposed to tackle the challenge in a two-phase process: development of a working prototype with few but representative and highly motivated partners during a first phase, then validation and refinement of the prototype with the other potential partners worldwide. The role of the institutions involved in this Project (first phase of the proposed strategy) is the following : FAO / global : implements a global scale top down inventory of world fish resources, provides (in collaboration with partners) a high level (top-down oriented) data model, and develops the related GIS based data base on regional resources status and trends, provides (in collaboration with partners) web based system specifications (top-down oriented), and organise testing of the web based system coordinates development of the standalone application as well as Web-based module FAO / GFCM, CECAF and WECAFC participate to the testing of the standalone application through development of 2 or 3 case studies ICES , ICCAT and NAFO : implement a regional scale top-down inventory of fish stocks (under their mandate) and associated fisheries, develop the corresponding data base, refine data model where necessary, describe species biological features for those species involved in monitored stocks (as a local extension of the FIGIS Species module), develop reference files and associated glossary, develop prototype Stock assessment data base (2 or 3 case studies) provide (in collaboration with partners) standalone application specifications, and necessary complements to web based module specifications testing of the standalone application NOAA (USA), DFO (Canada), and BRS (Australia) agree on draft templates for reporting on status of fisheries and stocks agree on protocols for communication, confidentiality, peer review develop pilot applications and joint instruments and references(Glossary, assessment models, stock state categories, etc. Immediate Project Objectives Elaboration of the prototype of a Web-distributed application for a Fish Stock module on assessment, status and trends, in the frame of a restricted community composed of FAO, 3 Atlantic Regional Fishery Bodies and a limited number of national institutions having a leadership in fish stocks monitoring, in close collaboration with 3 strong national centers of excellence. Specific Objectives for this prototype will include : - A computer standalone application for users of stock assessment results with which to maintain records of where, when, what, how - and even why - stock assessments were undertaken, along with their results ; - the Fisheries Resources Monitoring System Web and GIS based application (a satellite of FIGIS), tightly coupled with this standalone application. The web based application will allow RFB staff to control the uploading, integration within FIRMS and worldwide dissemination. It will integrate full data security and user profile management, data quality assurance, GIS and mapping capacity ; - elaboration of FIRMS application's reference files and related glossary ; - development of the corresponding data bases : Species biology, Stocks, Fisheries, and Stock assessment results data base - fish stock Standalone-web distributed application ready for broadening its usage to the world community Workplan The Project will be implemented in 4 phases. The Outline of the proposed workplan and human resources profile required is given below. A detailed Gant chart is attached in annex. It should be noted that a pre-project test phase has already begun, in conjunction with the preparation of this proposal, to familiarize FAO with the current reporting systems of participating RFBs. This test phase is expected to result in a more efficient implementation of the workplan outlined below. The first phase will consist in agreeing on an overall design allowing for a consistent and streamlined flow of information from the decentralised Stock assessment results management application residing within the RFBs information system, and the FIRMS Web based global application. Two main outputs are expected : On the hard-software side, the FIRMS coordinator and system architect will work on the feasibility study to give the global picture of the technological solution, taking into account the present situation in involved RFBs, user requirements as expressed by RFBs and FAO, and medium term plans to disseminate usage of this standalone application worldwide. The review will involve the RFBs fisheries advisers, assessment scientists and computer specialists. On the information side, based on the initial FAO's data standard proposal and the implementation of a few case studies, discussions between all partners involved will aim at agreeing on an initial working data standards. These foundations should allow the RFB's fisheries data specialist (under Fisheries adviser supervision) to establish the inventory (or the list) of stocks and fisheries monitored at RFB level, and the Fisheries editor5 to enter this inventory in the data base. During the last part of the same phase, the Stock assessment reports conversion tool will be designed, and tested applying a few case studies. Both RFB's computer specialist and Fisheries editor will be trained for that purpose. GUI developers will apply various layouts to the converted reports, thus allowing RFB's fisheries adviser and FIRMS coordinator to review the adequacy of the conversion tool. These case studies will also be considered and validated by the Lead developer in charge of the software design. Second phase : Achievement of first phase will allow for design of the two interacting applications. The standalone one will allow RFB staff 1) to upload in a data base format the reports compiling stock assessments done and results obtained, 2) to produce various reports (including the FIRMS one) from queries made to the data base. The web based application will allow RFB staff to control the uploading, integration within FIRMS and worldwide dissemination. This web based application will integrate full data security, quality assurance, user management, GIS and mapping capacity. Design of these two applications will be done in parallel. Each of the following step will be duly validated thanks to reviews involving concerned players : a FIRMS system analyst will elaborate detailed specifications, which will be reviewed by the RFB's fisheries adviser, the RFB's computer specialist , and the FIRMS coordinator; the case studies elaborated during phase 1 will be part of these specifications, as well as a primary identification of the reference files. a FIRMS lead developer will elaborate the high level design which will reflect his thorough understanding of the required tool through identification of software units, elaboration of conceptual data model, description of the technological solutions, and detailed workplan. Review will involve the FIRMS architect, coordinator and system analyst, and the RFB's computer specialist; Finally, the inventory and compilation of the required thesauri, reference files and associated glossary will be implemented by a FIRMS fisheries editor, in order to identify duplicates or synonyms, terms definition gaps or conflicts, missing languages. Compilation results will be presented to RFBs Fisheries advisers and assessment scientists , who will participate in a meeting to resolve conflicts as much as possible, and distribute roles for completing the Glossary. During the same meeting, guidelines for the Web remote maintenance of the reference file and associated glossary will be discussed, the FIRMS system analyst being asked to prepare a draft "Reference file maintenance procedures document". This document will be reviewed and validated by the RFBs fisheries advisers and assessment scientists. By then, conditions should be met to launch phase three, including 1) full format reconversion of stock assessment and fisheries reports, to be implemented by the RFBs fisheries editor, with regular overseeing by the Fisheries adviser, 2) Preparation by the RFBs Fisheries advisers of the lacking Glossary terms definitions and compilation of the reference files by the data base administrator, and 3) software development, which will consist in : low level design : the high level design will be deepened by the FIRMS lead developer so that a detailed design be proposed for each of the software units previously identified. Again, the review will involve the FIRMS architect and the RFB's computer specialist ; a successful detailed design should allow straightforward coding, i.e. effective development of the software, and of its related documentation. While coding, the FIRMS lead developer will test the individual software units developed. He may be assisted by other developer profiles, in particular for the Web based application : a GUI designer , a GUI developer, and a data base administrator. These parallel developments will converge during the testing phase : the FIRMS system analyst will establish a testing plan in close collaboration with the RFB's fishery editors; this plan based on a diversity of user scenarios will aim at testing the integration of the whole application : upload of converted assessment and fisheries reports into the RFB's data base, production of the various reports from queries on the RFB's data base, upload of the FIRMS report into the Web based application, review and validation before worldwide dissemination, remote maintenance of reference files and glossary. It will indeed require the effective availability of data material. Some of the user scenarios will involve the other players already mentioned. Defects detected and suggestions will need to be resolved by the various developers involved according to a workplan prepared by the testing manager, and validated by the FIRMS coordinator and RFB's fisheries advisers. Phase four will address applications for worldwide dissemination : Once any defects are corrected and the application stabilised, a FIRMS software editor will develop an on-line help facility, from which the user manual will be derived. System analyst will be involved for review; Two FIRMS translators will make the necessary translations (GUI interface, help pages, error messages, thesaurus and definitions) in the missing languages, so that the application be fully internationalized; FIRMS fisheries editor will publish the agreed standards on the Web; A senior trainer will prepare the training course material.   Prepared by the Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit   reference source Extracted from Development of a World Fishery Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS), as prepared by the FAO Fishery Information, Data and Statitistics Unit   Top		Stock assessment data is essential to resource monitoring Courtesy of NOAA   There is a particular lack of information on the status of resources from many small islands Courtesy of NOAA/NODC/Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo   links World Resources Monitoring (FIRMS) Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS) further information The Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS) reference source